The Celestial Fortress
This story is from the Chronicles of Aelion There are many Aelion symbols. The oldest of them, their meanings long forgotten, were engraved on stone tablets found in ancient buildings that now exist only as ruins. These structures were already ancient in the days of the empires of Idala and Nairus, and thousands of years have passed since. Curiously, many of these symbols have appeared relatively recently, during the reign of the current gods. But the symbol that represents the Celestial Fortress was and remains the most famous of them all. While historians still argue about its true origin and meaning, only one historical fact remains clear: the Celestial Fortress which the symbol represents prevented the destruction of Aelion. Nearly a thousand years ago, Aelion was invaded by the Mantides, which were led by the great goddess Sangra. Aeli, already the great God of Aelion, and his loyal immortals drove the monsters back. An entire nation rose up against the dreadful invaders, forcing them to withdraw. Sangra retreated, but some of her army remained on Aelion, hiding in its deepest caves. The pain and unbridled rage of the Mantide goddess was so strong that she ended up resorting to truly appalling measures. As an act of revenge, her plan was to weaken or potentially even destroy Aelion along with all its inhabitants, both mortal and immortal. Even today, it is still unclear how she managed to accomplish this. Disasters began to occur: mighty storms and tsunamis, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions – all causing heavy casualties. Aeli attempted to manage the chaos and for a long time he believed that the cause was in the planet itself. However, when Aeli used his divine powers to dispel the volcanic ash clouds which had settled over the continents, something wholly unexpected came into view. The largest of Aelion’s moons, Thea, its path in the sky known for thousands of years, was not where it was supposed to be. Local inhabitants, unfamiliar with what they were seeing, took this vision of the volcanic red sky with flakes of black ash as the final sign of the approaching world’s end. But Aeli, being a god of great wisdom, immediately understood that it was Thea that had caused all the cataclysms across Aelion. Soon, word spread to all residents that Aelion was now in danger that far outweighed the perils any previous disaster had posed. All hopes lay with Aeli, but even he knew his divine powers were not enough to prevent the moon’s seemingly inevitable plummet towards the planet. In fact, calculations showed the disaster was less than a hundred years away. In just four short years, Aeli and his helpers managed to devise a plan for a colossal installation above Aelion, which would stabilize the falling Thea. Over the next three decades, almost the entire population of Aelion was involved in the construction process. There was no need to urge them on – everyone could see that with each passing year, Thea was taking up more and more space in the sky. As work on the project continued, Aeli refined the original design of the Celestial Fortress. In addition to its primary purpose – to stop the moon from falling, the installation now known as “the Celestial Fortress”, was also created to serve as a watchtower to warn of approaching invaders. This addition to the fortress was something only Aeli and his confidants knew of. When the Celestial Fortress was finished, Aeli personally launched the construction into orbit, where he himself put it together. One night, when Thea was partially eclipsed by the younger moon, the Celestial Fortress came online. Thea was taking up so much space in the sky that the younger moon appeared very small in comparison, though from the earliest times they had looked quite similar in size to stargazers. The moon’s approach caused Aelion to shake once more, but this time the world’s people were prepared for it. Aeli had successfully predicted a series of small cataclysms would occur shortly after the launch of the Celestial Fortress before things would begin to normalize. He was not mistaken in his calculations and, after a few years, Thea began to slow in its approach before stopping altogether. The Celestial Fortress was able to counterbalance the movement of all the moons of Aelion and soon they began to revolve around the planet in new orbits. This change not only saved Aelion from near total destruction, but it also had the unintended effect of calming its waters. Initially rough due to tidal forces, the seas and oceans of Aelion ceased to be restless and began to smooth out. This change opened the way for large groups of individuals to live on the shores safely; something which had not been possible before due to the raging storms, disastrous whirlpools and froth flows which had plagued the coastal regions. When the fall of Thea had stopped, the threat of global cataclysm was finally averted thanks to Aeli and all the inhabitants of Aelion. That is what the symbol represents – the moment when the Celestial Fortress was launched against the background of the two moons. The picture itself, according to one source, was painted by an artist of the time who may have been impressed by the installation. According to another source it’s an early sketch by Aeli himself from when he was just starting to work on the structure’s design. Not much information remains about these events, because a hundred years after the launch of the Celestial Fortress Aeli disappeared, leaving Aelion to fall into a period of darkness. During these Dark Ages much was destroyed and lost forever, and Aeli himself became nothing more than a wishful legend. But the symbol of the Celestial Fortress remains – a symbol of protection and overcoming obstacles on the way to the noble goal of salvation. The symbol managed to survive the Dark Ages and helped many generations make it through those troublesome times - giving them hope. To this day, the symbol still shines brightly for all residents of Aelion to gaze upon, inspiring them to do great deeds and accomplish even greater achievements. External links Celestial Fortress Category:Lore Category:Chronicles of Aelion